Multiplayer Software Excites Studio Execs : Technology: Machines are unveiled at consumer show, but questions remain about the potential size of their market.
Trip Hawkins, chief executive of 3D0 Co., used the Consumer Electronics Show here Thursday to unveil the first software for the company’s “interactive multiplayer,” the multimedia machine that has captured Hollywood’s imagination--and quite a bit of its money.
The studio executives nearly stumbling over each other’s feet at 3D0’s crowded booth at the convention included Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber, Paramount Technology President Keith Schaeffer, Warner Bros. Vice President for Strategic Planning Steven Koltai and MCA/Universal Vice President Charles (Skip) Paul.
The 3D0 software includes a football game, an educational space exploration game and an interactive version of “Jurassic Park,” the upcoming dinosaur film from Universal/MCA. The device, which attaches to the television, creates graphic animation far superior to PC or video systems.
The 3D0 company, which hopes to make its interactive box as popular as the VCR, has been criticized for promoting “vaporware” that might never materialize. But Hawkins said Sanyo and AT&T; have agreed to manufacture the machine, in addition to Matsushita’s Panasonic, which will make the first models available this fall.
In other “rhetoric becomes reality” consumer electronic news, Casio and Tandy introduced the Zoomer, a pocket-size, pen-based computer that acts as a personal organizer, recognizes handwriting and when attached to a modem connects consumers with a variety of information and communication services.
And Apple Computer announced that its personal interactive electronics division has entered “collaborative and exploratory” efforts with three regional Bell companies--Ameritech, Bellsouth, and US West--to simplify and expand fax and voice communication services for the Newton, its personal digital assistant (PDA).
Such interactive “multimedia” devices are grabbing much of the attention among retailers here, who see them as providing fresh revenue for their otherwise mature industry.
Still, even with the hardware in hand, analysts caution that these emerging technologies may not live up to their billing initially. PDAs have been criticized as little more than glorified versions of the personal organizers such as Sharp’s Wizard, which have been available for some time. And despite its progress, upstart 3D0 still has many detractors.
“Wall Street loves (Hawkins),” says Bruce Ryon, a multimedia analyst at Dataquest. “But it’s a common belief among analysts and industry insiders that he’s going to fail. A consumer electronics product of that class has never been successful at that price.”
The 3D0 machine, which will retail for $700, has a 32-bit processor and handles complex graphics and animation better than anything else on the market, according to many industry observers. It can play music CDs and display still-photo CDs as well as interactive games and educational programs that incorporate text, sound and visual effects. But it will go up against game giants Nintendo and Sega, which have a huge customer base and which cost far less.
Philips and Pioneer Electronic Corp. are also showing competing technologies at the show. And in what will be AT&T;’s first entry into the video game business, the firm announced that it had developed a new technology with Sega to allow two or more people to simultaneously play a video game over telephone lines.
In a related development, Prodigy Services Co., the home computer network owned by IBM and Sears, joined the race to develop interactive television Thursday by offering its national network as a linkup for cable TV operators and programmers.
